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| “ | We are one. This is the Glorious Evolution. | „ |
| ~ Viktor speaking through his cultists. |
The Glorious Evolved are the main antagonists of the final act of Netflix's 2021 animated series Arcane, which is set in the universe of the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends.
They are a race of silent mechanical doll-like creatures created by by Hextech co-creator Viktor, whom they share a hivemind with. Initially in life, the beings that would become the Glorious Evolved were people with some sort of disease or affliction, typically a Shimmer addiction, whom Viktor healed, and who followed his vision with a fanatical devotion. After Viktor was shot and killed by Jayce, the followers lost their lives, and when Singed revived Viktor, the latter re-purposed their corpses into mindless machines, which he saw as the final stage or "glorious evolution" of mankind, intending to transform everyone into Glorious Evolved under his rule.
Appearance[]
Apart from Viktor himself, the evolved are tall, slender, faceless creatures that vaguely resemble sleek porcelain mannequins with golden accents. They are highly agile, with their joints able to move in positions that would be unnatural for a human. They speak in eerie chirping sounds and tend to crawl like insects, and are usually synchronized in their movements, emphasizing their hivemind nature.
In the post-apocalyptic future where Viktor's Glorious Evolution succeeded, it is shown that his vision of a perfect future has led to an empty, desolate world, and his perfect evolved have all started to decay and grow corrupted over time due to rust and age. Here, the evolved are all an oxidized grayish brown color, covered in cracks and holes that reveal them as the empty, hollow shells of the humans they once were. Their movements are also stiffer and creakier, losing the graceful elegance they had before.
History[]
Origin[]
The first of the evolved, the Herald, was created by Jayce Talis when he fused Viktor's body with his invention, the Hexcore. This was done in order to save Viktor's life, but it was also against his wishes, leading to a falling out between the two friends, and Viktor leaving Piltover for good.
Looking for a new place where he might be able to save lives, Viktor was led by the voice of his deceased assistant, Sky Young, deep into the Undercity where all the Shimmer addicts lived. The addicts were initially frightened of Viktor and attempted to attack and rob him, but in a demonstration of his new powers, Viktor healed their leader, Huck from his tumors, Shimmer addiction, and even his glasses and receding hairline, and in their amazement Huck and his fellow addicts pledged their undying loyalty to the Herald, whom they regarded as a miracle worker.
Over time, this small circle of disciples developed into a flourishing commune, with Viktor as their benevolent leader attracting people from across both Zaun and Piltover with his magic healing abilities. Unfortunately, it attracted a little too much attention from the likes of Jayce, Jinx, her adoptive father Vander, and Ambessa's Noxians, and the commune soon became a battlefield. Viktor himself was shot through the chest by Jayce, who, unbeknownst to him, had just traveled through time and witnessed the horrifying consequences Viktor's actions were about to cause. The damage Viktor sustained caused all of his cultists' souls to be sucked into the Hexzone, and they collapsed on the ground with an unnatural scream to the heavens.
Post-Apocalyptic Future[]
Prior to his attack on the commune, Jayce entered the Anomaly under the Hexgates and ended up in a future where Viktor had enacted his Glorious Evolution of humanity. It was a desolate timeline, where Piltover and Zaun were littered with silent, mechanical husks of human corpses. These husks, who were actually corrupted decaying evolved, startled Jayce and appeared to be watching his every move, stalking him. Eventually, Jayce found the Viktor of this timeline, who sent him back home with a mission to stop the Glorious Evolution from happening.
When Jayce returned to the present, he was greeted by Salo, whose legs were magically repaired by Viktor. Salo was not acting like his usual arrogant self, instead appearing completely servile to Viktor and allowing his body to be used as a puppet for the Herald to speak through. Jayce, realizing that Salo was gone, killed the cultist with his hammer and then set out to kill Viktor.
The Glorious Evolution[]
Viktor, disappointed in humanity after the destruction of his commune, came to the decision that human emotions had to be purged from everyone for the sake of a peaceful future. He used his hivemind abilities to speak through the cultists, first to bargain with Ambessa, then again to transform Huck into an automaton, becoming the first fully-evolved being from Viktor's cult. Huck, piloted by Viktor, snuck his way into the Piltovan Council room to bargain with Jayce, hoping he might convince his former partner to help him bring about the Glorious Evolution. Jayce refused and managed to defeat the cultist with the help of Mel Medarda. Jayce later presented the evolved's body to the people of Piltover and Zaun when enacting his call to arms against Ambessa and Viktor's attack on the Hexgates.
Frustrated by Jayce's refusal to help him, Viktor allowed himself and his followers to undergo a full evolution into creatures of pure Hextech, including the dead body of Warwick. Ambessa led the assault, foolishly believing she would gain a mechanical army of her own by helping Viktor. Through clever deception, Ambessa managed to distract Piltover's entire army as Viktor went to the Hexgates alone, as he unleashed the evolved against everyone up on the surface. The evolved Warwick attacked Jinx and Vi, while Viktor himself fought Jayce, who was waiting for him in the Hexgate. Viktor and his evolved swiftly won the battle, as he and his army unleashed the Anomaly into the sky and began to evolve everyone, with Viktor's minions restraining anyone who tried to escape.
The evolved attempted to restrain Ekko, but failed due to his Z-Drive, which was able to rewind time whenever Ekko was on the verge of defeat. Ekko then intentionally overloaded his Z-Drive so that it would explode in Viktor's face, stunning him and freezing time. This allowed Jayce to finally reason with Viktor within the Hexzone, which was the central spiritual hub for the Herald and his hivemind. Jayce showed Viktor the timeline he had seen, as well as his conversation with the future Viktor who was full of regret. Realizing the error of his ways, Viktor and Jayce ended the Glorious Evolution together, which absorbed the two of them and Viktor's hivemind into Jayce's acceleration rune before popping out of existence. After this, the evolved all collapsed onto the ground, lifeless and broken.
Surviving Members[]
Though the Glorious Evolution had ended and Viktor was gone, Warwick had not died. He suddenly got back up to attack the injured Vi, possibly a result of his own regenerative physiology (a trait that was not shared by Viktor's other followers). Jinx and Warwick then fell down the tower shaft where she blew him up with a Hextech grenade, leaving both their fates uncertain.
The final evolved, and possibly the only surviving one, is Orianna, who is shown to have been successfully brought back to life by Singed as a mechanical ballerina. Singed accomplished this by replicating the evolved's transmutation using a serum he had extracted from Viktor's purple cocoon-like sphere. Since she was created independently of Viktor, Orianna was never connected to Viktor's hivemind and therefore survived after his death.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- In the original lore, the Church of the Glorious Evolved were not affiliated with Viktor, instead worshiping his work and ideals from afar. This was changed with the release of Arcane, where Viktor founds and leads the cult himself.
- Their design was based on a "biblically accurate" angel without wings, hence the golden halos, many eyes, and ascension imagery.
- This was meant to match Viktor's Dark Messianic inspiration for his own design.
- Their designs are also reminiscent of Orianna's clockwork design, likely because they are made from a similar material.
- Blitzcrank, while a Hextech creation of Viktor's, is not one of the evolved. The golem is instead stated to have "evolved" a consciousness on its own without Viktor's help.
- The process by Viktor's followers are "evolved" is called Hexcorization, since their transformations are a result of Viktor's invention, the Hexcore.
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 Villains
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Empire of Noxus Black Rose House Du Couteau House Medarda The Immortal Bastion Others Piltover & Zaun Silco’s Crew Glorious Evolved Enforcers House Medarda Sons of Ur Others Original Lore Demacia Mageseekers Ionia Order of Shadow Bilgewater The Freljord The Winter’s Claw Shurima Ixtal The Shadow Isles Others The Void Voidborn Servants of Bel'Veth Bandle City Demons Others Darkin Others | ||